Stroke Counting Putter Assembly

ABSTRACT

A stroke counting putter assembly for tracking a number of strokes taken by a putter in a round of golf includes a putter that has a handle and a striking head for striking a golf ball. An impact sensor is coupled to the striking head to strike the golf ball when the striking head strikes the golf ball. A control circuit is coupled to the putter and the control circuit is electrically coupled to the impact sensor. The control circuit counts the number of times the impact sensor strikes the golf ball. A display is coupled to the handle and the display is electrically coupled to the control circuit. The display displays indicia comprising numbers communicating the number of times the impact sensor strikes the golf ball to communicate the number of strikes to a user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Statement Regarding Federally Sponsored Research or Development

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to putter device and more particularly pertains to a new putter device for counting a number of strokes taken by a putter in a round of golf.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to putter devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a putter that has a handle and a striking head for striking a golf ball. An impact sensor is coupled to the striking head to strike the golf ball when the striking head strikes the golf ball. A control circuit is coupled to the putter and the control circuit is electrically coupled to the impact sensor. The control circuit counts the number of times the impact sensor strikes the golf ball. A display is coupled to the handle and the display is electrically coupled to the control circuit. The display displays indicia comprising numbers communicating the number of times the impact sensor strikes the golf ball to communicate the number of strikes to a user.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a stroke counting putter assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a back view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken alone line 5-5 of FIG. 3 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a detail view taken from circle 6 of FIG. 4 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 thereof, a new putter device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the stroke counting putter assembly 10 generally comprises a putter 12 that has a handle 14 and a striking head 16. The handle 14 has a distal end 18 with respect to the striking head 16 and the striking head 16 has a forward surface 20 for striking a golf ball 22. The putter 12 may be a golfing putter of any conventional design that is employed for the game of mini-golf or other similar golfing game.

An impact sensor 24 is provided and the impact sensor 24 is coupled to the striking head 16. In this way the impact sensor 24 is positioned to strike the golf ball 22 when the striking head 16 strikes the golf ball 22. The impact sensor 24 is positioned on the forward surface 20 of the striking head 16 and the impact sensor 24 may comprise an electronic impact sensor of any conventional design. A control circuit 26 is coupled to the putter 12 and the control circuit 26 is electrically coupled to the impact sensor 24. The control circuit 26 receives an impact input when the impact sensor 24 strikes the golf ball 22. The control circuit 26 includes an electronic counter 28 for counting the number of times the impact sensor 24 strikes the golf ball 22. Thus, the electronic counter 28 counts a strike when the control circuit 26 receives the impact input.

A conductor 30 is positioned within the putter 12 and the conductor 30 is electrically coupled between the control circuit 26 and the impact sensor 24. In this way the impact sensor 24 is in electrical communication with the control circuit 26. The conductor 30 may be an insulated wire or other similar electrical conductor.

A display 32 is coupled to the handle 14 and the display 32 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 26. The display 32 displays indicia 34 comprising numbers for communicating the number of times the impact sensor 24 strikes the golf ball 22. In this way the display 32 communicates the number of strikes to a user. Moreover, the indicia 34 on the display 32 increases by one each time the electronic counter 28 counts a strike. The display 32 is positioned on the distal end 18 of the handle 14 and the display 32 may comprise an LED or other similar electronic display.

A power button 36 is movably coupled to the handle 14 and the power button 36 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 26. The power button 36 turns the control circuit 26 on and off, and the power button 36 is positioned on the distal end 18 of the handle 14. A reset button 38 is movably coupled to the handle 14 and the reset button 38 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 26. The reset button 38 resets the electronic counter 28 to zero when the reset button 38 is depressed and the reset button 38 is positioned on the distal end 18 of the handle 14. A power supply 40 is coupled to the handle 14, the power supply 40 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 26 and the power supply 40 comprises at least one battery 42. The distal end 18 of the handle 14 may comprise a battery cover 44 that is removable from the handle 14 and the at least one battery 42 may be removably positioned beneath the battery cover 44.

In use, the power button 36 is depressed to turn on the control circuit 26 and the putter 12 is employed for striking the golf ball 22. The impact sensor 24 senses each time the golf ball 22 is struck and the display 32 displays the number of times the golf ball 22 has been struck. Thus, it is not necessary for the user to keep track of the number of strokes taken for each hole of golf. The reset button 38 is depressed each time the golf ball 22 is successfully hit into a hole. Thus, the display 32 is reset to zero for tracking the number of times the golf ball 22 is struck on a subsequent hole.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

1. A stroke counting putter assembly being configured to count the number of times a putter strikes a ball, said assembly comprising: a putter having a handle and a striking head being configured to strike a golf ball, said handle having a distal end with respect to said striking head, said striking head having a forward surface being configured to strike a golf ball; an impact sensor being coupled to said striking head wherein said impact sensor is configured to be positioned to strike the golf ball when said striking head strikes the golf ball, said impact sensor is positioned on said forward surface of said striking head; a control circuit being coupled to said putter, said control circuit being electrically coupled to said impact sensor, said control circuit including an electronic counter for counting the number of times said impact sensor strikes the golf ball; a display being coupled to said handle, said display being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said display displaying indicia comprising numbers communicating the number of times said impact sensor strikes the golf ball wherein said display is configured to communicate the number of strikes to a user, said indicia on said display increasing by one each time said electronic counter counts a strike; a power button being movably coupled to said handle, said power button being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said power button turning said control circuit on and off, said power button being positioned on said distal end of said handle such that an entirety of said power button is offset from a central longitudinal axis of said handle, a center of said power button, said central longitudinal axis of said handle, and a central longitudinal axis of said striking head all being coplanar; and a reset button being movably coupled to said handle, said reset button being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said reset button resetting said electronic counter to zero when said reset button is depressed, said reset button being positioned on said distal end of said handle such that an entirety of said reset button is offset from the central longitudinal axis of the handle, said reset button having a diameter less than a diameter of said power button, said reset button having a center.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said control circuit receives an impact input when said impact sensor strikes the golf ball; and said electronic counter counts a strike when said control circuit receives said impact input.
 4. The assembly according to claim 3, further comprising a conductor being positioned within said putter, said conductor being electrically coupled between said control circuit and said impact sensor thereby placing said impact sensor in electrical communication with said control circuit.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply being coupled to said handle, said power supply being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said power supply comprising at least one battery.
 7. A stroke counting putter assembly being configured to count the number of times a putter strikes a ball, said assembly comprising: a putter having a handle and a striking head, said handle having a distal end with respect to said striking head, said striking head having a forward surface being configured to strike a golf ball; an impact sensor being coupled to said striking head wherein said impact sensor is configured to be positioned to strike the golf ball when said striking head strikes the golf ball, said impact sensor being positioned on said forward surface of said striking head; a control circuit being coupled to said putter, said control circuit being electrically coupled to said impact sensor, said control circuit receiving an impact input when said impact sensor strikes the golf ball, said control circuit including an electronic counter for counting the number of times said impact sensor strikes the golf ball, said electronic counter counting a strike when said control circuit receives said impact input; a conductor being positioned within said putter, said conductor being electrically coupled between said control circuit and said impact sensor thereby placing said impact sensor in electrical communication with said control circuit; a display being coupled to said handle, said display being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said display displaying indicia comprising numbers communicating the number of times said impact sensor strikes the golf ball wherein said display is configured to communicate the number of strikes to a user, said indicia on said display increasing by one each time said electronic counter counts a strike, said display being positioned on said distal end of said handle; a power button being movably coupled to said handle, said power button being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said power button turning said control circuit on and off, said power button being positioned on said distal end of said handle such that an entirety of said power button is offset from a central longitudinal axis of said handle, a center of said power button, said central longitudinal axis of said handle, and a central longitudinal axis of said striking head all being coplanar; a reset button being movably coupled to said handle, said reset button being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said reset button resetting said electronic counter to zero when said reset button is depressed, said reset button being positioned on said distal end of said handle such that an entirety of said reset button is offset from the central longitudinal axis of the handle, said reset button having a diameter less than a diameter of said power button; and a power supply being coupled to said handle, said power supply being electrically coupled to said control circuit, said power supply comprising at least one battery. 